The 2017-2018 NHL season ended on June 7, 2018, when the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas was just three victories short of doing the impossible. But nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever diminish what this season meant, not only to the VGK players, coaching staff, and organization, but especially to the entire city of Las Vegas.
Winning a championship is always the goal for any professional sports team, but sometimes something else becomes not only the goal, it also becomes a story that will live on forever. You can win multiple championships, but you can only live this story one time.
The VGK never lost focus on the ultimate goal: winning the Stanley Cup. But on 1 October, that was temporararily put on hold. There was now an even higher purpose.
Bill Foley hired George McPhee to assemble a team from the other 30 NHL teams. George hired Gerald Gallant to form these players into a cohesive unit. At that time, exactly one year ago (364 days ago, to be exact), no one knew that these players had more than hockey games to win. They also had to save a city — a city of strangers who never had a major-league team with which to bond. The Vegas Golden Knights transformed Las Vegas into a family that is strong and proud.
Last night, there was one last order of business before the 2017-2018 could be officially closed and that was the end-of-season National Hockey League awards.
Four different members of the Golden Knights were nominated for awards.
George McPhee was nominated for General Manager of the Year, along with Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets and Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Gerard Gallant was nominated for the Jack Adams Award that is bestowed on the NHL coach of the year. Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche was also nominated, along with Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins.
William Karlsson was nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres along with Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers were also nominated.
Deryk Engelland was nominated for the Mark Messier Leadership Award, presented to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team on and off the ice during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community in growing the game of hockey.
Each VGK who was nominated won in his category.
Though the awards show was hosted by the NHL and held in the Joint Theater at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, last night was really the Vegas Golden Knights Award Show. It was a fitting way to officially end the 2017-2018 season.
A note about the Mark Messier Award. The other two nominated players, Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers and Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets, are both outstanding leaders, but truth be told, they never had a chance against Deryk Engelland. Deryk didn’t just lead his team. He literally put the entire city of Las Vegas on his shoulders and carried it through the season.
In fitting fashion, all four VGK winners were brought on the stage to stand alongside four first responders to and four survivors of the worst mass shooting ever in the United States. It was a carbon copy of the first VGK game played in Las Vegas only nine days after the event that rocked Las Vegas and the entire country to their core.
Last night in Vegas, these four individuals won something much more important than the Stanley Cup. They and their teammates won the hearts and love of the entire NHL. The hearts and love of the people of Las Vegas were won over on October 2 and it continues to this day.
Hockey is the consummate team sport. Players sometimes skate for a mere 30 to 45 seconds before being replaced by the next line to hit the ice. Even the team stars might skate 15 minutes out of a 60-minute game. They all pull on the same rope together. The Knights pulled on the rope of Las Vegas and have been for the last nine months. The inaugural season ended last night, but the story will last a lifetime.
The Stanley Cup is awarded every year. The VGK won a championship that will be remembered forever and might never be duplicated.
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